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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: sharp · snap · swing · cell · spring · coach · tube · perch

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. swing — music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spring — a coil
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. snap — to click
  9. perch — the fish
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. spring — the season
  12. cell — in biology
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. tube — a container
  15. swing — in golf
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. tube — the underground
  20. cell — a phone
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — of water
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com